


Treasure, Teeth and a Texan

by bracus09



Category: SEAL Team (TV)
Genre: Day At The Beach, Gen, Sharks, Treasure Hunting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-10
Updated: 2020-08-17
Packaged: 2021-03-05 19:42:34
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,574
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25830772
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bracus09/pseuds/bracus09
Summary: When the Bravo picnic and a prank spell trouble for a certain Texan.
Comments: 15
Kudos: 60





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So, it's Shark Week.
> 
> In honor of Shark Week, I thought I would play with Sonny's fear a little bit. :)
> 
> Stay safe and enjoy!

Clay and Full Metal had found the perfect place to have the annual Bravo Team picnic. It was a beach on Wallops Island, but you could also see the southernmost tip of Assateague Island off the North Virginia coast. The section they found was deserted since it was miles from everywhere. They wouldn’t have to fight with the crowds to get a good spot as they had the previous two years. They would have the place all to themselves so everyone could unwind and have a good time. But to Clay, the best part of their find was the legend that went with it.

The locals called this section of sand Doubloon Beach because two Spanish ships went down in 1802 off the coast of Virginia during what was described as a hurricane. The legend says the ships were carrying gold and precious gems and went down near Assateague Island. Once in a great while an actual gold doubloon would wash up onto the beach from the shipwrecks. To keep treasure hunters from tearing up the beach, stories were told that the beach was haunted by the ghosts of the captains and crews, searching for their lost treasure. It also helps that to dive on potential shipwrecks, a special permit needs to be issued.

Clay’s mind was working overtime. A story like that was great set up for a practical joke on Sonny. Clay decided to update the story a little saying that there were sharks that were guarding the treasure. It spiced the story up a little, and with the way Sonny is scared of sharks, he would probably avoid the ocean all together.

On the day of the picnic, Clay and Full Metal got there before anyone else. They carefully hid a few worthless coins in the sand. Clay had picked up some imitation doubloons at a novelty store and had soaked them in a jar of salt water for a week to age them. Clay knew this day was going to be perfect. He could feel it in his bones. He will finally get his revenge for all the dinosaur jokes he had to endure for the last couple of months. Soon, the others began to arrive.

“So, this is ‘The Spot’ you couldn’t stop talking about?” Sonny said a bit skeptically. “Funny, I don’t see any ghosts.”

“That’s just a legend, Sonny, and it’s one of the reasons this beach is still here,” Clay said in his most disinterested sounding voice… hoping that he will be reeling in a sucker.

“How’d you figure that?” Trent asked as he set down a large blue cooler in the sand. He knew he’d be making many more trips back and forth to the parking lot before all of the things that Naima deemed necessary for Bravo to bring were in place for the picnic. It seemed that Naima thought of anything and everything that they might need and packed it into their vehicles.

Team tradition had it that the men would come to the picnic spot and set up and the wives/girlfriends, children and other invited guests would arrive a short time later. Trent had ridden with Ray and his Jeep was packed to the roof with more stuff than they would take on a spin-up.

“Well, legend has it that once in a while doubloons can be found washed up on the beach and well, you know how treasure hunters can be,” Clay said knowingly as he set up some lawn chairs. He carefully avoided looking at Sonny, but he knew Sonny would take the bait. He was talking about gold.

“That’s a bunch of bullshit,” Sonny hooted, as if one cue. “Ghosts, gold coins, ha! Nobody has ever found any-”

“I did, Cowboy,” Full Metal told him. He handed him an authentic Mexican coin. It was rough, looked like it had been squashed, and there was no date and the words were in Spanish. Sonny would never know the difference. “My family used to come here sometimes when I was a kid.”

Sonny inspected the coin closely. He never noticed Trent roll his eyes and head back up to the parking lot for the next load. “What’s it worth?”

Full Metal shrugged hoping he could pull this off. The large coin was brass, not gold, and worth maybe ten bucks. “Was appraised for a couple hundred back then, but the price of gold has gone up so now I really don’t know.”

“You’re pullin’ the wool over me.” Sonny said, taking the bait. It was all Clay and Full Metal could do to keep from fist-bumping each other. “I don’t suppose there’d be any more left around here after all this time. Where’d you find it anyway?” Sonny tried to act uninterested.

Full Metal almost panicked. He didn’t want Sonny digging around in the sand and finding all the fake doubloons they’d hidden before the kids even got here. It was supposed to be a treat or game for the kids. That was how Clay had convinced him to go along with the scheme to begin with. The plan was that Sonny and the kids would be occupied for hours and everyone else could relax and enjoy the picnic. “Let’s see if I can remember… It was out there among those rocks, I think.” He pointed to the long jetty of rocks that ran from the beach out into the bay.

Just then Ray and Jason arrived toting a large barbeque grill. “You guys want to get off your asses and lend a hand here so we can get the briquettes going?” Jason hollered to them.

“You got it, Boss,” Sonny called back and took off across the sand to the spot that Jason had chosen to set up the grill. Trent was trailing behind with another armful of stuff.

“That was brilliant, Metal. Good thinking!” Clay’s praise was sincere.

“You’re not the only clever one around here, you know.” Full Metal replied.

“So what’s that coin really worth?” Clay wanted to know.

“A few cents in Mexico. Not a thing here,” Full Metal said, putting it back in his pocket. “We’d better help set up before Jason thinks we need to run hills for not pulling our own weight. I have a few more folding chairs and a folding table in the trunk.”

They got their minds on the picnic. By the time the family members and girlfriends began to arrive, the barbecue was up and ready, the tables and chairs were all in place, coolers were set up for self-service of drinks and the volleyball net was ready for action. The women were bringing the more perishable of the food and replacements for all the chips the SEALs managed to consume while setting up the picnic.

By the time everyone had eaten and the grudge volleyball match had been played, Clay tried to interest the kids in a game of find the doubloon, but they were all more interested in playing in the water than on the beach. Emma was too busy trying to get a tan in her bikini, and Jason was grateful they were the only ones on the beach because he thought her suit was not covering enough.

Sonny, however, had discovered three small coins. He had said nothing of his discovery, but quietly pulled Full Metal aside for more specific information on where he found the large coin.

“I thought you didn’t believe in all this bullshit,” Clay teased.

“I don’t. I was just curious is all.” Sonny defended himself.

“Out on one of the jetties. That one, I think,” Metal fudged, pointing to the area.

“You can’t go out there, Sonny,” Clay told him.

“And just why not?” Sonny was beginning to be annoyed.

“Because the legend says that the treasure is guarded by sharks.” Clay tried to convince him to drop the idea.

“Sharks? I thought it was ghosts,” Sonny scoffed.

“Well, that depends on which legend you believe in.” Clay explained.

“I don’t believe in any of them. There’s no such thing as ghosts.” Sonny stated, crossing his arms over his chest.

“What about the sharks, Sonny? You believe in them?” Clay had to tease.

“This water is too shallow for sharks.” Sonny justified.

“Famous last words,” Clay said dramatically, holding his hand over his heart.

“Go play in traffic, Bam Bam. Sharks, ghosts, next you’ll be saying that the treasure belongs to the little blue people from the Twilight Zone,” Sonny muttered. “I say the treasure belongs to whoever finds it!” With that he walked toward the rocks.

When he was out of earshot, Clay and Full Metal dared to laugh. They watched him climb on the rocks for a while, then went back to join the picnic.

“No doubt about it,” Jason was saying. “This is an awesome spot. You two actually pulled it off,” he told Clay and Full Metal. “But,” he added, “All this food and no exercise makes me a fat SEAL. I’m going to jog down the beach for a while. Anyone care to join me?”

Only Brock was suckered in by the invitation, saying that Cerb wanted to run too. Clay and Full Metal each grabbed a beer from the cooler and sat down by Ray and Trent who were watching the kids playing in the surf with Emma and Naima. “You two are setting him up, aren’t you,” Ray accused without looking at them.

“What?” Full Metal almost choked on the beer he was sipping.

“What are you talking about, Ray?” Clay asked innocently, trying to cover Full Metal’s blunder.  
“You know what I’m talking about. All this talk about treasure hunting?” Ray gave them the stink eye.

“Ray, we only told him the story. You heard him say he didn’t believe it.” Clay explained.

“Yeah, but if he were to find a few coins, then he might believe it.” Trent supplied.

“Did he find some?” Clay continued his innocent routine.

“It’d be pretty hard not to. They’re all over the beach.” Ray tossed a coin to Clay.

“Wow Ray! You found an honest to goodness ancient Spanish Doubloon!” Clay was impressed.

“Yeah, only I wonder why those ancient Spaniards took the trouble to stamp the words non-negotiable on them in English,” Ray said with disgust.

“What?!” Full Metal exclaimed, taking the coin and examining it closely. “I didn’t notice that.”

“Neither did Sonny, I’m sure.” Trent said, taking a sip of his beer.

“Come on, guys, it’s just a harmless joke,” Clay assured them.

“Yeah,” Full Metal agreed. “This is supposed to be a picnic. Relax and have fun.”

‘ _Fun?_ ’ Ray thought. ‘ _Do they realize that we will have to listen to Sonny bitch about this for the next two weeks._ ’ He got up and joined Naima and Emma at the water’s edge to watch the children splash around.

So the afternoon wore on. Everyone became involved with the activities of the picnic/beach party. No one noticed Sonny’s absence.

***

Sonny had walked out to the end of the Jetty. By this time, he’d found 15 or 20 more coins and was feverishly searching for more. He decided that he really likes treasure hunting. He was mentally spending his profits on a new motorcycle. Maybe he could convince Clay to become a partner, dive for sunken treasures in their off times. They were all qualified divers and could rake in a lot on their days off.

Sonny didn’t notice that the tide was coming in and many of the rocks he had searched were now under water. Only the large rocks at the end of the jetty where he now worked were still above water. Sonny’s neck and shoulders were sore and sunburned. He stood up to stretch. He looked back to shore and was surprised at how far away it now looked. “Looks like I’ll have to swim back.”

He was about 30 feet from the beach. Some rocks and bushes obscured his view of the picnic area. He had no idea what time it was, but he knew he was hungry. He could hardly wait to show off his cache of coins. He would be able to rub it in Blondie’s face.

He was about to jump into the ocean when he saw something that stopped him cold. A solitary fin stuck up out of the water and circled the rock on which he stood. He was petrified with fear for a minute and then he relaxed. “Oh, it’s the old fake shark fin routine, Tinkerbell? You don’t fool me for a minute. You think you’re gonna scare me away from my treasure, do you? Well, I’ll show you that Sonny Quinn does not scare that easily,” Sonny scoffed confidently.

He jumped from the rock and began swimming for shore at a leisurely pace. The fin cautiously followed. “What’s the matter, Blondezilla? Can’t you keep up?” Sonny laughed, treading water while he waited for Clay to catch up to him. When the fin was within 8 feet of him, he began to casually backstroke toward the shore, humming nonchalantly. “I suppose you think you’re scaring me, but I got news for you, ol’ Mr. Shark, I’m not afraid of you.” Then he got a brilliant idea that would teach Clay for once and for all not to try and pull pranks on the Prank Master. Not only would he not run away from the shark, he’d attack it.

He waited till the fin was within reach then he grabbed it with both hands and brought his knees into its underside as hard as he could. He figured that would knock the wind out of Clay. There was a rock nearby which he’d drag him to until he sufficiently recovered to swim to shore. He’d finally get the last laugh with the annoying brat.

But instead of a choking Clay coming to the surface, a huge dark grey tail slapped the water near his legs then the fin was yanked out of his hands as the creature leapt away. In an instant, the shark turned and came toward him. Stunned for a moment, Sonny refocused quickly and scrambled for the rock. He nearly made it, but the large body of the shark smashed his right knee into the rock as he climbed. It erupted in pain as the skin was scraped off on the rough rock, but he ignored it as he pulled himself up onto the slippery rock.

He counted ten fins closing in on his rock from every direction. He didn’t have to look at his knee to know it was bleeding. The scent of blood was now in the water. His blood. A dinner bell to every shark in the Atlantic.

‘ _You idiot! You attacked a shark?!_ ’ He couldn’t believe it. He’d never done anything this stupid before. He wondered how many people could claim to have done that. ‘ _Probably not and lived to tell about it._ ’ He forced himself to focus. His knee was bleeding freely. He took off his shirt and used it to apply pressure to the wound. The sting of the saltwater hurt like hell, but he didn’t let up. He had to stop the bleeding. He was trying to ignore the fact that he was beginning to feel lightheaded and lose the strength in his hands. He was losing his grip on the shirt. He recognized the symptoms of shock. Trent drilled those symptoms into everyone’s head the first week they joined Bravo, and helpfully reminds them at any chance he could. He fought against those exact symptoms. He couldn’t let himself pass out or he’d fall into the water with the hungry sharks.

He looked around for help but saw no one. His phone was on the beach because he didn’t want to chance getting it wet or it falling into the ocean. He did notice that the tide was coming in and would soon cover this rock. The shark circled the rock awaiting dinner. Sonny threw back his head and called for help, but he was certain that no one could hear him.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And the conclusion!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this fic was supposed to be about Shark Week... Guess who got distracted by Shark Week and didn't write?
> 
> Here is the conclusion of this fic.
> 
> Enjoy and stay safe out there!

“Have you seen Sonny?” Trent asked Jason and Ray. He was becoming concerned.

“No. Not since this morning. Why?” Jason replied.

“I need the keys to his truck. He has the spare beach umbrella in the backseat. I’ve looked everywhere for him and I can’t find him.” Trent replied.

“Take it easy, Trent. I’m sure he’s okay.” Ray said, as he had spent the day relaxing. Both Jason and Ray had a rare treat with this day off. Neither wanted to give up their mellow moods just yet, but Trent was very anxious.

“Maybe he found out Clay and Full Metal were playing a joke on him and got mad and left.” Brock suggested.

“I don’t think so. He wouldn’t just leave without saying anything,” Trent insisted.

“Is his truck still here?” Jason asked logically. It looked like he’d have to step into command mode to get this mystery cleared up.

“I guess so.” Trent said.

“Well, you go check. Ray and I will look this way,” Jason said.

Trent climbed the dunes to the wide sandy shoulder that served as a parking lot for the beach. As he reached the top, he saw Sonny’s truck was still where he had left it this morning. Trent knew something was wrong now. He had a sixth sense where his teammates are concerned. Clay and Full Metal were sitting a little bit down the beach staring at Clay’s phone and watching a pre-season NFL game. “You guys seen Sonny?”

“No. I guess he’s still treasure hunting,” Full Metal supplied with a laugh as he took a swallow of beer.

“Blackbeard Sonny?” Clay asked, feeling a twinge of guilt for fooling his best friend.

“Where did you hide those coins?” Trent asked, not giving into the frustration he felt.

“On the beach. They’re not worth anything. Don’t worry about them,” Full Metal said with a disinterested shrug.

“I’m not worried about the fuckin’ coins. I’m worried about Sonny. No one has seen him for hours,” Trent snapped angrily.

“Oh yeah?” Clay became serious. “Maybe he’s looking for more coins up here. Metal, you look down that way and we’ll check this way,” Clay commanded.

“Okay. SONNY!” Full Metal walked off calling.

“Look, his truck is parked down at the end there. Maybe he’s sleeping in his truck. You know Sonny, he drinks like a fish at the get-togethers,” Clay offered hopefully.

Trent knew that what Clay said was true. Sonny did drink like a fish. He hoped he was right as they raced to Sonny’s truck. He wasn’t there.

Just then, Naima and the kids trudged up from the beach. “Did you find him?” Naima asked.

“Not yet. Why don’t you guys go ahead and take the umbrella from over the food table. Almost all the food is gone anyways,” Trent said in a calm voice.

Naima knew it was forced calm. She heard that voice enough times at work and from her own husband.

“Is Uncle Sonny missing?” Jammelah asked.

“Maybe he met a girl,” Mikey snickered, having heard his Dad grumble about Sonny and strip clubs.

“Who? A mermaid? There’s no one around for miles,” Emma said dramatically. She’d been out of phone contact with her friends for the past two hours after her phone died. She was going through withdrawal.

“Come on kids, help me clean up the picnic area,” Naima interrupted.

“I wanna help find Uncle Sonny,” Jameelah insisted.

“There’s enough people here to find him. Let’s just get out of the way. Come on, clean up time,” she said in a voice that every kid recognized. She shot the men a worried look over their heads as she herded them over to the picnic tables.

“Trent, there’s some binoculars behind Sonny’s seat. They’d come in handy,” Clay said, pointing to the backseat of Sonny’s truck.

“Yeah,” Trent agreed, getting back to business. He tried the driver’s side door. “Damn, it’s locked.”

“Maybe I can jimmy it,” Clay volunteered, fiddling with the door lock.

So intent were they in their work that they didn’t hear the gray GMC Terrain come to a halt beside them.

“Don’t you boys know that’s illegal when you’re stateside?” Came a voice.

They spun around in shock. It was Eric Blackburn. He was in the passenger seat of Lisa Davis’ SUV and Mandy Ellis was in the backseat. They’d promised to come to the picnic after they wrapped up things on base.

“We can’t find Sonny,” Trent explained quickly. “There’s some binoculars in his truck. We thought they’d help…”

Blackburn had gotten out of the SUV already. “Luckily, I know each one of you are experts at breaking into cars,” he said with a smile in their direction.

“Have you guys ever timed who is the fastest?” Mandy asked as she got out of the car.

Trent and Clay went back to the door lock. Clay maneuvered the lock and in less than a minute, they heard a click and he opened the door.

A worried Trent quickly crawled in and grabbed the binoculars from the backseat.

“He must have wandered off somewhere,” Clay explained. “Maybe he got lost…”

“And maybe he drowned,” Trent spat furiously, finally giving voice to his worst fears.

“Oh, don’t worry about Sonny swimming here, Trent,” Lisa assured him.

“Why not?” Trent demanded.

“The water is full of sharks, and we know how Sonny loves sharks.” She replied.

“Come on, Davis, that’s not funny anymore,” Trent muttered.

“It was never funny, Trent. It’s just a fact.” She explained.

“I thought I was making that up,” Clay admitted.

“No, it’s true. I have a friend that’s in the marine biology division of the Navy. Her lab is stationed just a few miles up the road. They use these waters to study the effect of sonic noises on the animal life, which include sharks.”

Full Metal joined them. “No sign of him down that way.” He took the binoculars from Trent and climbed into the bed of Sonny’s truck to take a good look around.

“Sonny didn’t know there were sharks in these waters.” Trent was still convinced his theory was correct.

“You can probably see them from there,” Mandy said, indicating where Full Metal was standing in the truck.

“Oh fuck!” Another realization hit Trent. “The kids have been playing in the water all day!”

“They were probably okay because they stayed in the shallows. Most of the sharks around here prefer to feed in deeper water where the fish are.” Blackburn said.

Full Metal had looked in every other direction, so he trained the glasses on the water. “I see something!”

“Is it Sonny?” Trent climbed up into the bed with him.

“It might be.” Full Metal was unsure. “Take a look for yourself.” He handed Trent the binoculars.

“Where?” Trent demanded.

“Out there on the jetty.” Came the reply.

“What jetty?” Trent was becoming frustrated.

“It’s mostly under water now but there’s a few rocks still showing. I thought I saw something move on one of the rocks.” Full Metal pointed Trent in the right direction.

“It’s him! But it looks like he’s hurt his leg. Oh fuck! The water’s full of sharks. He must have been bitten by a shark!” Trent exclaimed.

Blackburn climbed up to stand next to Trent and Full Metal. “Is he conscious?”

“I don’t know. I can’t tell. He’s lying awfully still, and his leg is bleeding.” He handed Blackburn the glasses so he could look.

Lisa shaded her eyes and looked out to the water. “Tide’s coming in,” she said. “That rock won’t be safe much longer.” She started to pull out her phone and headed for her SUV.

“Where are you going?” Trent asked.

“Calling my friend, who should be at the lab. She’s got a boat.” Lisa explained.

“We’re coming with you,” Clay insisted as he and Trent raced to the car. Neither of them could just stand around and watch. They had to do _something_.

While they were piling into the SUV, Lisa was talking to her friend on the phone and Trent had speed dialed Jason to update him on the situation.

Her SUV tore its way down the sand covered highway to the lab. They followed her as she ran inside. “Sami! Sami,” she called urgently.

The lab was not what either Clay or Trent had pictured. No boiling beakers or people in white lab coats were to be seen. An office door opened and a lady in khaki shorts and a Hawaiian print tank top came out of it. She was on the taller side, tan and athletic looking. Her blond hair was tied back into a ponytail.

“Is your guy still out there?” Sami asked.

Lisa nodded and Sami became serious. “Mike, Freddy – to the boat,” she called to her assistants. They grabbed two bags full of gear and headed towards the dock and loaded them into an 18-foot speed boat that was tied to the pier.

“I’m coming with you,” Clay yelled.

“Look, sharks are nothing for amateurs to fool with,” Sami disagreed.

“I’m a Tier One operator, we are trained to swim in shark infested water. Besides, you’re going to need help if he was bit.” Clay explained.

“Is he bleeding into the water?” Sami demanded.

Clay nodded.

“There could be a frenzy. Okay, you can come but you do exactly as you’re told. Got it?” Sami stated.

Clay jumped into the boat as the powerful twin inboards roared to life.

“Lisa, you get back to the beach nearest his location. Use these flares to signal us,” Sami said, shoving a box in Trent’s arms. “Have medical supplies and an ambulance there so we can treat him as soon as we get him to shore.”

Lisa and Trent hopped back into her SUV and drove back to the beach. She didn’t stop at the shoulder but drove right down onto the beach where Jason, Ray, Brock with Cerb, Full Metal and the families were watching in horror as Sonny’s refuge grew smaller and the circling sharks closed in.

Trent loaded the flare gun and waited for the boat to be spotted.

“Is he conscious, Eric?” Jason asked Blackburn, who now had the binoculars.

“I think so, just barely.” Blackburn replied.

Trent heard the boat and began firing flares.

“They see him,” Blackburn reported. The other strained their eyes to watch the drama unfold.

On the boat, the two assistants attached wires to speakers on either side of the boat and lowered them into the water.

“What is that?” Clay asked in a voice loud enough to be heard over the engines.

“Studies have shown that sharks don’t like certain noises in the water. This is still experimental though,” Sami hollered back as she pulled on a wetsuit.

They steered the boat as close to the rocks as they dared. The sharks seemed to be backing off. They still swam in tight angry circles, but they were now several yards away from the boat and the rocks.

“Well, here goes,” Sami said, picking up a small Bluetooth speaker to hook to her belt.

“I wanna go too.” Clay said.

“No, you stay here.” Sami was firm. “Two people will be tempting enough for our friends out there. I can’t protect three.”

“But I know him, and we are trained-” Clay tried.

“And I know sharks. You’re staying here even if Mike has to sit his 300 pounds down on you.” Sami snapped back.

Mike, who looked like a Sumo wrestler, stepped between Clay and the water.

“Okay, okay,” Clay muttered angrily. He tried to put it behind him and get ready to help Sonny once he was back on the boat. “You have a first aid kit?”

“Get it for him, Freddy,” Sami ordered her slender assistant, then she jumped into the ocean. She obviously was a strong swimmer because she reached the rocks in a few easy strokes.

Sonny was very weak. His lips were cracked and bleeding from overexposure to the sun and the salt water. It seemed like he’d been out here forever. He was getting close to giving up when he saw a figure gracefully slide out of the water onto the rock.

“Who are you?” he croaked. He wondered if it was the angel of death and he didn’t really even care if it was.

“It’s alright, Sonny. I’m here to help you,” Sami began kindly. She could see that Sonny was badly dehydrated. A quick glance at the bloody shirt that was tied around his knee as a make-shift bandage spoke of his injury. The sooner she got Sonny to medical help, the better. She slid her arm around Sonny’s chest and began to ease him into the water.

“NO! NO! NO! SHARKS!” Sonny began to panic as he hit the water. With strength drawn from near hysteria, he thrashed violently, smashing his injured knee against the rock once more. Blood now gushed into the water.

It was all Sami could do to keep them both above water as she tried to swim to the boat. She didn’t notice that one of the sharks boldly entered the area, bravely getting close to the speakers. The shark was attracted by the scent of blood and the agitated waters that Sonny was stirring up as he fought to get away from Sami.

“Look out, Sami, there’s one coming up behind you!” Mike called from the boat.

Sami spun around in the water to face the shark. While her attention was diverted, Sonny finally managed to break free. Sami knew she’d have to attend to the shark first. She raised the small speaker she’d been carrying on her dive belt and hit the on button. A shrill sound pierced the air. She then lowered the speaker into the water. The shark reacted to it immediately. It stopped swimming toward the swimmers. It seemed stunned for a moment then it began to swim in confused circles.

Both men on the boat were armed with long paddles, but Clay didn’t pay any attention to them. His full attention was on Sonny. He was too weak to swim and he began to slip beneath the water. Clay dove in after him.

“Hey!” Freddy objected when he jumped in. He had no protection at all from the sharks if they managed to attack.

Clay wasn’t thinking about sharks. He was thinking about his best friend who was feebly trying to get back to the rock he had been trapped on. The rock was almost completely under water by this time and Sonny was far too weak to reach it. Clay reached him as he sank below the surface for a second time and yanked him back up. “Sonny! Sonny, it’s me, Clay,” he hollered trying to get through to him as he began to struggle once again.

“Bam Bam?” Sonny was weak and confused, but he recognized his brother’s voice. A wave of relief came over him and he passed out, slipping beneath the surface once more.

Again, Clay fished him out. Sami joined him and together they got Sonny to the boat.

“We need to get him to medical care,” Sami panted, once Sonny was safely on board.

“Trent is our team medic, and hopefully they called an ambulance,” Clay told him as he began to apply the basic first aid to Sonny.

“Beach it,” Sami told Freddy as she got out of her wetsuit before taking the controls herself.

They headed for the shoreline with the speakers still in the water to deter the sharks. When they were in about four feet of water, Mike and Freddy jumped out and with the aid of the SEALs, beached the craft. They all continued to surround the boat but didn’t want to get in the way.

Trent and Jason hopped onto the boat. Clay was kneeling over Sonny on the deck. Sonny had coughed up the water he’d swallowed, and he was coming around.

“Clay?” Sonny asked groggily, trying to sit up.

“Yeah, it’s me, Sonny. You just lay still and let Trent examine you.” Clay placated him.

Sonny squinted as Trent and Jason came into his view. “How did you get on the boat?”

“They beached the boat,” Jason said casually as Trent tried to remove Sonny’s shirt from his knee. Sonny had tied it in place very well and he ended up having to cut it off.

All eyes were on Trent and Sonny’s leg as the bandage was removed. Sami supplied a jug of clean water with which to clean the wound.

“You know, I never saw one before, but this is not what I expected a shark bite to look like,” Trent commented as he carefully irrigated the wound.

“Shark bite?” Sonny was even more confused. “That shark didn’t bite me.”

“It didn’t?” Now Trent was confused.

“Naw, it just slammed me into the rocks after I kicked it in the belly.” Sonny replied.

“You kicked it in the belly,” Jason repeated. He was sure he hadn’t heard Sonny correctly.

“Sonny, why did you kick a shark?” Clay asked patiently, suddenly he was feeling very tired.

Everyone was listening closely for his reply. He kept them waiting while he took a drink from a cool water bottle that Brock had handed up to the boat. His voice sounded better when he continued. “Well, I saw the fin, and I figured it was Clay trying to scare me away from the treasure, so I…”

“So you kicked the shark,” Jason finished for him, not believing it and yet, knowing Sonny, believing it.

“This has got to be the first time a shark was attacked by a swimmer,” Lisa laughed from the side of the boat. They all joined in except Sonny who was availing himself of more water while Trent was bandaging his leg with supplies from the boat’s first aid kit.

“Sonny, what did the shark do when you kicked it?” Blackburn asked.

“Well, it seemed kind of surprised,” Sonny admitted.

“I imagine it was,” Sami laughed. “They don’t have many natural enemies. What were you doing out there anyway?”

“Looking for treasure,” Sonny answered simply.

“Under water?” Ray couldn’t believe it.

“It wasn’t under water when I started.” Sonny defended.

“Oh, that old Spanish treasure nonsense,” Sami scoffed.

“It’s not nonsense,” Sonny insisted. The color was returning to his face and he was looking much better. “What’s all the wires for?”

“Speakers that play music that acts like a shark deterrent.” Mike stated.

“It sure works. I wondered why the sharks backed off suddenly.” Sonny said. “Where can I get some?”

“It’s still experimental. Unfortunately, when the shark hysteria that Jaws caused died down, the government has cut our funding drastically. We’ll probably never perfect it now,” Sami told him.

“Will this help me get one?” Sonny aside. He dug into the pocket of his swim shots and handed Sami his coins that he found.

“Hate to break it to you, but those are no good. Clay and Full Metal put them in the sand to fool you and the kids,” Trent explained.

“You mean I coulda gotten killed out there on those rocks finding coins that are worthless?!” Sonny was furious and lunged at Clay who was on the other side of the boat. He managed to get his hand on Clay’s soaking wet shirt.

“Lay still, Sonny, or you’ll start bleeding again,” Trent warned.

“Wait a minute, Sonny,” Clay hurried to explain, wriggling out of his grip and stepping back out of his reach. “I didn’t even have that many fake coins and I didn’t put any on the rocks. It was just on the beach! Ask Metal.”

“He’s right, Sonny. Ours were all on the beach for the kids,” Full Metal assured him. Metal was feeling guilty about what happened.

“You mean they’re real?” Sonny stopped trying to grab Clay for a minute and looked at the ancient coins in his hand.

“I doubt it, Son,” Jason said sadly. “If there ever were any real Spanish treasure, I imagine those rocks would have been picked clean long ago.”

“I don’t know,” Sami said as she examined one of the coins. “There was a nasty storm two weeks ago. It might have stirred up something from the ocean floor and these do look pretty old.”

“Take them for your research,” Sonny insisted, thrusting the rest of the coins into Sami’s hand.

“But these might be extremely valuable,” Sami objected.

“Who cares. I’d rather be a live SEAL than a dead treasure hunter,” Sonny said firmly. The idea of getting a boat and diving for sunken treasure no longer appealed to him. “Just when you finally refine those, I want one.”

An ambulance screamed its way onto the scene. And everyone started to shift into action.

“But I don’t need-” Sonny began to protest.

“You need stitches and I want to get an x-ray of that knee just to be sure,” Trent began. “To say nothing of a proper cleaning of this wound and a tetanus shot.”

“Aw, Trent, come on. Wouldn’t you rather enjoy the picnic. I bet you’re hungry. I know I am.” Sonny gave it his best shot.

“You can get something to eat at the hospital,” Davis assured him.

“But Davis…” Sonny pleaded.

“No more arguing,” Blackburn said firmly, motioning for the paramedics to come down on the beach.

“This is all your fault, Ken Doll,” Sonny yelled angrily when it was clear to him that he was losing his fight with Trent, Jason and Blackburn.

“My fault?” Clay asked innocently.

“The families can just go on with the picnic. We can catch up with them later,” Trent told the rest of Bravo.

“Wait a minute,” Sonny insisted once he was on the gurney. He reached into his other pocket and handed Ray his truck keys. “Can you get my truck home?”

“Sure thing, Sonny. I’ll take care of it,” Ray promised.

Sonny allowed himself to be loaded into the ambulance. Trent got in with him and he looked at Jason and Blackburn. “Ya comin’?”

“There isn’t room for all of us in there. Besides, there are several nice burnt burgers on the frill with my name on them,” Blackburn chuckled. “We will check in on you later,” With that he closed the ambulance door.

“Damn,” Trent muttered under his breath.

“Almost makes you wanna go kick a shark?” Sonny asked with a grin.

“I think I’ll leave that to you,” Trent assured him.

***

Back on the beach Jason turned on Clay and Full Metal. “He’s right about one.”

“What’s that?” Clay asked as they all made their way back to the grill. It will be all hands on deck to start cleaning everything up.

“It’s all your fault,” Jason said, sounding exasperated.

“All my fault?! Metal’s the one who told him to go look in the rocks. Why is that my fault?” He grumbled as he followed the others down the beach. “And I sure never told him to pick a fight with a shark. How was I even supposed to know there were sharks out there?”

“Spenser,” Blackburn interrupted his spiel.

“Yes, sir?” Clay replied.

“Shut up, will you? You just caused me paperwork.” Blackburn retorted.

With that, Clay knew he was going to be running hills until Sonny was healed.


End file.
